An Angel's Flight
by seifzellsquall
Summary: The rating is for violence. Scenes from the lives of two tragically misunderstood characters. My take on Seph's life and Hojo's thoughts on everything about it. Under revision.


First of all, I want to thank everyone who reviewed my first story. This one is a little darker, but was actually written before Red Riding Hood. I'm probably going to hange it drastically as time goes on, so check for updated versions of it if you like it. You all are my inspiration, keep reviewing, anonymous or not, flame or praise, I need feedback from you. Thank you all so much.

Ren-chan(seifzellsquall)

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_Estuans interius _

_ira vehementi _

_Estuans interius _

_ira vehementi _

_Sephiroth _

Sephiroth 

The dark-haired man sat at the desk, staring intently at the small black book that lay on it. _How long has it been, _he mused silently, _since I have dared open you? _He picked up the book, opening it to the first page. _My journal. I started you when he was born. _He turned the page silently. _I remember this day._

_Estuans interius _

_ira vehementi _

_Estuans interius _

_ira vehementi _

_Sephiroth _

Sephiroth 

"Daddy! I had another nightmare!" The silver-haired boy ran into his father's room, crying as he threw himself on the bed next to him. A young man with messy black hair jumped. When he realized what had happened, he put his arms around the boy.

"Shush," he said, stroking the boy's pale hair as he sobbed into his chest. "Quiet, Sephiroth. It was only a dream, and dreams can't hurt you."

The boy looked up, tears in his wide green eyes. "They can't?"

His father shook his head. "No, because dreams are what you make them. They can't hurt you unless you let them. You control the dreams, not the other way around."

"Really?" Sephiroth asked, still not believing his ears. "You're not lying, are you?"

"Son, I am your father, I wouldn't lie to you about something like that."

His son raised one eye in puzzlement. "But the lab ladies told me you lied all the time. An' you lie more to me 'cause I'm your son."

"They are the ones lying. I would never lie to you." _Because you're all I have left._

"Okay, Daddy," he said, hugging his father tightly. "Daddy, can I sleep in here with you, in case the monsters in the closet try to get out again?"

"I don't see why not."

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, son."

_Sors immanis _

_Et inanis _

_Sors immanis _

Et inanis 

Hojo sighed. _What I wouldn't give to have those days back. _He flipped to the next page in the journal, tears beginning to form in his eyes. _This was from his seventh birthday._

_Estuans interius _

_ira vehementi _

_Estuans interius _

_ira vehementi _

_Sephiroth _

Sephiroth 

The lab was decorated with brightly-colored streamers and helium balloons. Confetti was strewn over everything that would stand still. In the lab's kitchen, a large cake (white, because that was Sephiroth's favorite) sat on the counter, unfrosted. Hojo stood by the stove, making sure that the hot fudge was still hot.

"Can I open my eyes now, miss Ifalna?" Sephiroth said, peeking through his fingers as the Cetra woman guided him into the room.

"Not yet. Be patient."

"I can't."

"Well, pray for patience and the Planet will answer."

"Oh, God, Ifalna, don't tell him that. I prayed for patience, and look what I got," Hojo picked his son up in an embrace, "A Sephiroth."

Sephiroth laughed as his father spun him around in the air, "Is that true?"

Hojo nodded. "Remember, I would never lie to you."

"Happy birthday, Sephiroth!" The two adults cheered, smiling at the little boy.

"But, Daddy, my friends-" Sephiroth broke off as he was tackled from behind.

"Happy birthday, Seph!" a black-haired boy a little younger than Sephiroth yelled, hugging the seven-year-old tightly.

"Yeah, birthday!" another boy cheered as he jumped to hug the birthday boy.

Sephiroth laughed as he hugged his friends. "Zack! Sean! You came!"

Zack rolled his eyes at Sephiroth. "Duh! We're friends!"

"Yeah!"

_Veni, veni, venias, _

_Ne me mori facias _

_Veni, veni, venias, _

_Ne me mori facias_

That night, the boys had slept over, camping out in the living room and making the couch their "fort." Hojo chuckled slightly as he remembered the mess that the boys left in their wake. It had taken a week to get the hot fudge off the ceiling, and another week to get all of the popcorn out from underneath and inside of the couch. _Those were good times,_ he thought, sighing heavily.

He flipped several pages ahead in the journal. He stopped when he reached a bloodstained entry.

"Experiment zero-zero-five-three-two-one-nine-five."

_Veni, veni, venias, _

_Ne me mori facias _

_Veni, veni, venias, _

_Ne me mori facias_

Hojo bolted out of the holding chamber, locking the door behind him. His heart raced, he panted from exhaustion and fear. Blood spotted his lab coat so that he looked like a psychotic Dalmatian. He clutched a silver revolver in his left hand, and his right was placed over his heart.

"Dear Lord, if I die, let me take it with me."

Something large slammed against the door, and Hojo jumped away, turning so that he could get a better shot if the thing broke through.

The beast let out a feral cry. It began clawing at the hinges, trying to get at its intended prey. It growled and snarled as it tore at the steel fixings. Finally, they gave way, the beast's talons stronger in the end. Hojo raised the gun as it jumped into the air.

The bullet went straight through its mouth and came out the back of its neck, burying itself in the wall. Blood splashed onto Hojo's face, a stark contrast to his pale white skin. He staggered back a few steps, still quite terrified.

A silver-haired teen slammed the door open, holding a large sword in his right hand. His eyes focused first on the shaken man, then on the dead beast at his feet. The green orbs widened at the amount of blood on his father's lab coat.

"Dad! What happened?" he asked, grabbing his father's shoulders and shaking him.

Hojo looked up into his son's eyes through spectacles tinted red with blood. "Another failed experiment." He took off his glasses and wiped them off on a handkerchief.

"_Just_ a failed experiment?" the young man asked.

"It tried to kill me. I managed to get away with only a scratch, but this lab coat is completely ruined," he stated, shrugging it off of one shoulder as he threw the bloody handkerchief in the trash bin. Sephiroth laughed.

"That's just like you, worrying more about your lab coat than your own personal well-being," the boy joked, putting an arm around his father's shoulders. "At least I know you're not hurt."

Hojo smiled. "Thanks son."

_Veni, veni, venias, (Gloriosa)_

_Ne me mori facias (Generosa) _

_Veni, veni, venias, (Gloriosa)_

_Ne me mori facias (Generosa)_

"God, what happened to my son?" Hojo looked to the ceiling, tears flowing freely now. "What happened to my son? Why didn't he believe me? I never lied to him."

He stood, walking over to a tank that contained what appeared to be a woman. She floated in a strange green goo, and her blue skin shone in the fluorescent lighting of the lab. Her hair flowed around her, a cascading amethyst curtain that shone majestically. She wore a crown bearing her name: JENOVA.

Hojo put one hand to the cool glass of her chamber. "This is your fault," he whispered, "You drove him insane. You spoke to him through the mako. The energy of the Lifestream that flowed through his veins was your link to him. You were always telling him what to do. You told him lies, and he believed you. He _believed _all of the lies you fed him. You made him hate me." He pounded his fist against the glass.

"No more. You will not harm anyone else." Hojo turned quickly and ran to the telephone. "Hello? Yes, this is Professor Hojo. I need papers to make a transfer of a subject to the Mt. Nibel Reactor. Please send them right away." He ran back to the tank.

"You're going to be sent to a remote place where you can never hurt my son again. I hope you rot in that reactor core."

Hojo stormed out of the room in a rage. Inside her tank, JENOVA began to open her eyes.

"Listen up, recruits," the intimidating man ordered, "You are all now officially one step away from becoming full-fledged members of SOLDIER. Do you all understand what this means?" Here he paused, catching the eye of one rather lean youth. The boy's blue eyes revealed his awe, the hero-worship that he was trying unsuccessfully to hide.

"You, boy, what is your name?"

The boy saluted quickly, not looking the General in the eye. "Sir, it's Cloud Strife, General, sir!"

The General nodded. "At ease, Strife"

The boy relaxed slightly, dropping his salute.

"Strife, can you give me an accurate definition of mako?"

The question caught Cloud off guard. "Sir?"

"Answer the question."

Cloud gulped. "Y-yes sir."

"And would you be so kind as to tell us just what exactly mako is?"

He was sweating now. Cloud had never liked tests, and this was quite possibly the worst one ever. "Sir, yes sir. Mako is the energy of the planet. It comes from the Lifestream—the river, if you will, of the spirits of beings that have died. Energy from the Lifestream is within every living organism, passed through the planet into them at birth. When a living organism dies, their energy returns to the Lifestream. Mako is a concentrated form of that energy. It is an energy source, the most valuable one on the planet. Materia, the small orbs that fit into the slots in all standard issue Shinra weaponry, are formed when mako crystallizes. They allow the user to cast spells, raise stats, and even summon special elemental creatures to aid in battle. Mako is injected in all members of SOLDIER to increase physical strength, dexterity, agility, and to speed reaction time. That is the extent of my knowledge of mako, General Sephiroth, sir."

Sephiroth was stunned. "Correct, Mr. Strife," he turned his attention back to the others now, slightly awestruck at the precise, textbook definitions of mako. _He and Father would get along just fine,_ he thought, _Both know so much about mako._ "This means that any of you with allergies to mako will not be accepted into SOLDIER."

Several of the recruits groaned. "Great," one whispered, "More needles in our arms."

"Not to mention peeing in a cup," another added.

Sephiroth, with his mako-enhanced hearing what it was, nodded. "Yes, gentlemen, needles and trips to the bathroom with a little plastic cup. Getting into SOLDIER is hell, but in the end-"

"Seph! Are the new recruits ready for their tests?" The all-too-familiar voice resounded in Sephiroth's ears. "Son? Did you hear me?"

"Yes, father, I heard you! The recruits are being prepped for entry into the lab. I'll send the first one in soon."

"Well, see that you do! I need to get these new lab assistants trained, and experience is the best teacher!"

"I know, father! Shut up!"

Hojo poked his head into the room and glared at his son. "Do you realize how dead you are?"

Sephiroth sighed. "About as dead as the last time?"

Hojo shook his head violently. "Worse. This time, I'm severing your funds for a month." He retreated quickly into the safety of his lab.

The General raised one hand to his head, massaging his temples slowly. The recruits were trying their hardest to fight laughter, and very few were succeeding. Sephiroth glanced at the blonde boy he had drilled earlier.

Cloud was red in the face, trying with all his might to fight the laughter building inside of him. His blue eyes watered from the humor of it all. _Wow, the all-mighty Sephiroth having his allowance taken away._ Those blue eyes showed the laughter he tried so desperately to hide.

In other words, Cloud looked like he was about to explode. With every passing second, he grew more crimson. Sephiroth could stand it no longer. He burst out laughing. The recruits joined in, deciding that if the General would laugh at his own misfortune, he wouldn't scold them for doing so as well.

Cloud was on the floor—literally—with laughter. The other recruits laughed even more at this. Sephiroth smiled—still laughing—and held out one hand to him. Cloud took his hand and allowed himself to be pulled up by the larger man. Once Cloud was back on his feet, they laughed at that as well. Sephiroth patted Cloud on the shoulder, as one would an old friend, and they shook hands.

Sephiroth dried his eyes. "Oh my, you all are a good-natured bunch. I hope you all make it into SOLDIER. In fact, I'll put in a good word for all of you in all of the departments. Even if you don't make it into SOLDIER due to allergies or other such things, you are guaranteed a place in Shinra Incorporated.

"Now, however, you have to take those tests-" The recruits groaned. "First on the list is Philionel Barber."

Cloud sat in the Shinra cafeteria, looking positively murderous. _Stupid DNA. Stupid genes. Stupid allergies!_ He poked at the food—at least, he thought it was food—on his tray. It seemed to be staring at him, and he was in no mood to be attacked by mutant cafeteria slop. He stood and deposited his tray in the trash can. He walked back to his table, and sat down to sulk some more.

"Didn't make it in?" The voice was familiar, and when Cloud looked up, he was surprised to see Sephiroth standing next to his seat. He handed Cloud a cup of what appeared to be tea or coffee. "This seat taken?" he asked, gesturing to the seat opposite the depressed boy.

"No, but I can't see why you wold want to sit near me, I'm probably allergic to you too."

"What?"

"Dust, ragweed, pollen, mold, cats, dogs, artificial grape flavoring, mako: I'm allergic to everything."

"It's okay, you've still got what it takes."

Cloud sipped at the steaming substance, quickly discovering that it was hot chocolate, and that, at least, was something he wasn't allergic to. Sephiroth sipped at his own mug of hot chocolate, not taking his eyes off Cloud.

"Listen, I have a job coming up. There's a problem at the reactor at Nibelheim. I will be going on the expedition, along with another SOLDIER, Zack Donovan. We need two qualified guards to come with us. I want you to be one of them."

"Really? Y-you want me to come?"

Sephiroth laughed. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't."

"I would be honored, sir."

"Please, just call me Sephiroth."

"Okay, Sephiroth."

_Veni, veni, venias, (Gloriosa)_

_Ne me mori facias (Generosa) _

_Veni, veni, venias, (Gloriosa)_

_Ne me mori facias (Generosa)_

The three members of SOLDIER First Class strode into Nibelheim, a quiet mountain town in the middle of the continent that lies just east of Wutai. The tallest one, a man with silver hair, turned to his youngest companion.

"Cloud, this is your home town, right?"

The rather short boy with spiky blonde hair raised one eyebrow. "Yeah, it is."

"Don't you want to say hello to anyone? Visit home, see your parents, anything?"

The boy nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Their black-haired companion smiled at them. "You all go visit, I'll check out the inn."

"Okay, Zack. We'll be around," Cloud said, not looking in Zack's direction as he walked across the town square. He stopped momentarily by a well in the middle, looking down into the inky blackness of its depths. He sighed deeply before looking around the square once more. His silver-haired companion had made himself scarce. _Probably off buying supplies,_ he thought absently.

Cloud continued toward his house, idly wondering if his mother would remember him. _As if she could ever forget this hair._ He smiled slightly. _It'll be good to see mom again,_ he thought, a bit of a spring coming into his step.

He walked up the steps and opened the front door of his house. He stepped in, ready to yell "Mom! I'm home!" at the top of his lungs. Instead, he stopped cold.

"Hello, madam, I am Cloud's friend, Sephiroth."

"Well, it's nice to meet you, young man."

"The same here, Mrs. Strife. I have heard nothing but wonderful things about you," the silver-haired man said, shaking Mrs. Strife's hand.

"Well, wasn't that sweet of my boy!"

"Um, hi mom. I'm home," Cloud said, feeling slightly awkward. "I see you've met the General." He hugged his mother tightly.

"Yes, you have a knack for picking nice people in this cold, unfriendly world."

Sephiroth smiled. "Thank you for the compliment, madam. Cloud does indeed have impeccable taste, if I do say so myself."

Cloud rolled his eyes at his commanding officer. "Sephiroth, you're nuts."

"Why thank you, Cloud."

Cloud moved toward the door. "Well, mom, it was nice seeing you. We have to go inspect the reactor at Mount Nibel. I love you, mom." He kissed his mother on the cheek.

"Oh, well, be safe, you two."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Strife, I'll take care of Cloud for you."

The lady smiled. "Thank you. I know you'll keep him safe."

_Sephiroth _

_Sephiroth_

Fire tore at the buildings around the square. Cloud ran to his mother's door, but the flames were too wild. His mother was most likely dead by now, anyway. He ran back towards the mountain, flames licking at the pine trees along the path. His frantic steps led him to the mako reactor. He ran inside, to the very core of the giant metal building. Something told him that who he sought would be here.

Sephiroth stood before what looked like a metal replica of a woman. He ripped it from the wall, revealing a tank of a green fluid. In it, a woman with blue skin and purple hair floated, one dark eye open wide under a silver crown.

"Mother, I've come to save you," he said to the woman. She seemed to smile at him. He reached one hand out towards her.

Cloud hefted his sword, the fire of rage burning inside him as Sephiroth's flames had burned Nibelheim. "Sephiroth!" he yelled, "What are you thinking? Why did you take all of these innocent lives?"

Sephiroth turned and smiled at Cloud. "I had hoped that you would sleep through all of this. I didn't want to hurt you. Now," he drew his sword, letting the length of the blade glitter in the light. "I am going to have to kill you."

He moved faster than Cloud's eyes could follow. A sharp pain pierced his stomach. "W-why?" he asked before he fell to the floor.

Sephiroth pulled the sword from Cloud's body, catching the boy and gently laying him on the ground as his life's blood spilled from the wound. "My mother called. JENOVA called me, and I must answer. No one can be allowed to get in the way. Forgive me, Cloud, I cannot refuse her."

Sephiroth pulled a small green orb from his pocket. He whispered a few words, and Cloud's wounds began to heal. Cloud looked at Sephiroth with confusion in his eyes. Sephiroth again smiled.

"You thought that I would just let you bleed to death? That is hardly a fitting death for a SOLDIER such as yourself. I will let you live, for now."

Sephiroth walked away slowly. Cloud's eyelids began to slowly close, and his last conscious thoughts were of revenge. He would have to find some way to get revenge.

"It has been seven years, Cloud. Are you ready to die?"

Cloud gripped his sword, his anger rising. He kept silent, his rage building.

"What, have you forgotten how to speak? Ha! Just like the animal you are. You humans are nothing but animals, and should be led to the slaughter."

The boy remained silent, infuriating the one winged angel.

"If I hadn't killed your _precious _Cetra, would you talk to me? Was Aeris really that special?"

The name struck a nerve. Cloud sprang forward, ready to kill. This time it was he that moved faster than light. He hacked and cut until he felt he would collapse. He looked into Sephiroth's eyes. "That was for Aeris, and all of the citizens of Nibelheim."

Sephiroth looked shocked. His mouth opened and closed as he fell backwards into the flowing green of the Lifestream. Cloud turned away.

"Forgive me, Sephiroth, I cannot forget her."

_Sephiroth_

_Sephiroth_


End file.
